Yes, I'm old.
Yes, I hung out in Julian's Billiard Academy and (It's) Ames (Mister) "in the day." (which we never said in the day.)
Yes, I traveled around with Onofrio Lauri, who held a constant conversation with God about bad rolls.
Yes, I bet a guy twenty Lyndon Johnson dollars that Jimmy Cattrano would break the balls and never shoot again (and Cisero ran 150 and out and kept it up to 229).
But...
I stop off at Amsterdam Billiards, where Danny Barouty has created a 14.1 shrine, most Monday nights on my way to class at NYU.
One night: Mika runs 98 like nothing on Table 9.
This Monday: Zion runs 96 with that eternal smile on his face.
In both cases they're playing Jim Gottier, a terrific player and great sportsman, who applauds their performances.
And this is at 5, when the guys are just warming up for the Monday night league.
I'm telling you that the quality of play wasn't this good in Ames and Julian's back then even though the players I talked to then bragged about playing Greenleaf, Crane, Caras and Mosconi.
These may be the Good Old Days.
Yes, I hung out in Julian's Billiard Academy and (It's) Ames (Mister) "in the day." (which we never said in the day.)
Yes, I traveled around with Onofrio Lauri, who held a constant conversation with God about bad rolls.
Yes, I bet a guy twenty Lyndon Johnson dollars that Jimmy Cattrano would break the balls and never shoot again (and Cisero ran 150 and out and kept it up to 229).
But...
I stop off at Amsterdam Billiards, where Danny Barouty has created a 14.1 shrine, most Monday nights on my way to class at NYU.
One night: Mika runs 98 like nothing on Table 9.
This Monday: Zion runs 96 with that eternal smile on his face.
In both cases they're playing Jim Gottier, a terrific player and great sportsman, who applauds their performances.
And this is at 5, when the guys are just warming up for the Monday night league.
I'm telling you that the quality of play wasn't this good in Ames and Julian's back then even though the players I talked to then bragged about playing Greenleaf, Crane, Caras and Mosconi.
These may be the Good Old Days.